Dr. Özlem Türeci and Prof. Dr. Uğur Şahin

The Aydın Doğan Foundation announced Özlem Türeci and Uğur Şahin as the recipients of the 25th Aydın Doğan Award, one of the most prestigious awards in Turkey presented annually since 1996 to a successful individual or institution to recognize and honour their contribution to developments in culture, art, literature, and science.

In its statement, Aydın Doğan Foundation underlined that the Board unanimously decided to award Özlem Türeci and Uğur Şahin for “their ground breaking work in biotechnology leading to the development of COVID-19 vaccine and for their extraordinary and unmatched contribution to human health and mankind”.

The Board also stated that “in addition to this remarkable scientific achievement that has the potential to save millions of lives around the world; Şahin and Türeci also set an inspiring example for their dedicated work and devotion to science.”

Özlem Türeci and Uğur Şahin noted that they were thrilled and honoured to receive this award. Prof. Uğur Şahin also stated that: "The Aydın Doğan Award is a great recognition of the difference science can make. We are honoured to be considered worthy ambassadors of the cause this award stands for: the commitment to contribute to the fields of art, science and culture, and to support the mission of educating children and providing them with equal access to education.”

The 25th Aydın Doğan Award will be presented to its recipients at a later date, in fall 2021 at an Award Ceremony to be held in Germany under the circumstances allowed by the pandemic.